Michael Todd - Audacious Faith
Okay, so one of the things that I always want to do is make sure we balance our expression with our information. Do you see how little the amens got right there? Because we would rather feel something than understand it. But in all your getting, the Bible says to get a what? Not a feeling. That’s right. So I want to validate what you just felt; that thing in me that just wants to lay out and act like none of y’all is here—that’s a real feeling, okay? But without the information from His Word, the enemy can come and rob us of our experiences because we do not have understanding. So today, in the next 40 minutes, I need you to give me your full attention.
If your food was late, you would stay until you got your to-go box. So today, I just want to give you a message in the next few minutes that is going to change your life. Pastor Mike, why are you saying it’s going to change your life? Because it has changed my life. Today, we are in week two of a series we’re calling Help Me Mustard. Yes, it is week two! Man, what happened? No, quit now! Don’t do it, don’t do it! They were still laid out in worship, but I’m speaking on faith. Somebody shout at me, «Faith!» I said shout it at me, say «Faith!» Today and for the rest of this series, what I want to do is try to enlarge your ability to believe God. Many of us have faith in things that don’t matter. We have faith in things.
Some of us, I told somebody this weekend, have more faith in Wi-Fi than in the Creator. Some of us say, «No, no, no, I know it’s going to work; I pay the bill.» No, no, no, no! I know it’s going to work; I reset the system. Wi-Fi, like God, is something you can’t see, but it’s something you have to believe in. And the only way you know it’s real is because of the results. Many of us have skipped over the results that God continues to show us. Everybody take a deep breath in, let it out. How much did you pay for that? How many good acts did you do for that breath? The Bible says, «Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.» I’m just trying to give you context for how ingrained our faith is in our lives. But if we don’t recognize that God wants to enlarge our faith, we will walk around, watch this, misusing what is so powerful and could change our lives. So today, I want to take us into a deeper dive into this series.
Did y’all like that song «Sign Me Up» that the worship team sang today? That song is going to be available this Friday on all streaming platforms to get your summer started off right. I’m asking that everybody sign up for this life of faith, that God would do something on the inside of you that would replace all the fear and bring you into a space where you can really believe. And so wherever you’re at right now, I believe that God’s going to do something special. If you would, for me, I want us to understand this simple point—write it down. Faith performs its best when there’s a demand on it. Faith performs its best when there’s a demand on it. My question to you today is, when is the last time you actually used your faith? I’m not talking about like, «Oh, if I just plan or do better or make it happen myself or save enough.»
I’m talking about something that if you told somebody this is what you were believing, they would back up. When is the last time you had a faith statement declared out loud that you knew would get pushback from people you love? Come on, it’s quiet in here because most of the time we’re using our faith for something very fundamental, very low, very middle of the road. But today, I came to put a demand on your faith, and I’m asking you to get into a place where every day that you wake up, you believe that through your belief in God—somebody say «In God.» In God, not belief in a course; not belief in an education system. All of those things are great, but your belief in God can create things that are not seen. I’m going to say it again—your belief in God can create things that are currently not seen. And I’m fighting right now against culture, which tells you to show how everything happens.
All the way back to elementary school, you know when they had you do your math problems, and what did the teacher always say? «Show your work.» It’s the right answer, 14, and the teacher wants to know how you got there. When it comes to faith, you have to unlearn that principle because it’s not going to add up, okay? And what hinders most of us is we’re trying to make it make sense even though we have the right answer. We’re trying to convince people, «Well, it was how I went about the meeting, and then once I used my skills in the meeting, it rolled over to a great relationship.» That then turned into, «You’re not that good.» How did God take the real you—not the presented you—and put you in that position, gave you that type of responsibility, and gave you that understanding of this thing? It’s not going to add up. So the sooner that you realize you don’t have to have the answer because you know the answer, y’all missed it.
I don’t have to have the answer because I know. Okay? I’m not trying to tell you what I’m figuring out today; I’m trying to tell you what I know. And today, I want to give you the audacity to believe God. Everybody say «Audacity!» Audacity! Now, when you usually use that term—watch this—it’s not positive. Most people, when they use it, say things like, «This woman came in the store today, and she had the audacity to ask me if she could try on nine items when it says eight right there,» and I told her, «Uh-uh, because I’m the stop.» Come on! This player, he came off the bench, and he had the audacity to take the game-winning shot. That’s when you’d be ready to kill somebody if this is your team. And then this no-name guy came off the bench like, «What?» But I started to look at the word audacity differently when it came to me exercising my faith.
And I believe that if you understood what audacity actually meant, then you would be one who believes God for the title of my message today—Audacious Faith. You need audacious faith, not safe faith, not secure faith; those are oxymorons. You cannot step out and stay in! Oh God! You can’t be out of the boat and in the boat, Peter! You can’t say, «My trust is in you, God,» and have a security plan. It’s time for believers to walk in—somebody say «Audacious Faith!» Audacious Faith! Okay, audacity is a willingness to take bold risks. A willingness to take what? Bold risks! When’s the last time your faith did something bold? Think about it for real! When’s the last time everybody wasn’t doing the same thing, and you were out there walking by yourself?
See, this term audacity has fired something up on the inside of me because I believe that it is God’s plan for every person who calls Him Savior to actually walk in audacious faith. When I look at the stories of the Bible, do you know how bold you had to be to tell everybody that you’re building a boat when it’s never rained yet? Noah was audacious! He had to convince his kids to get up every day, his wife to bring him sandwiches, and to actually come out and build a boat when there’s not even a body of water big enough to have! There’s never been rain yet! Do you know how audacious you had to be to leave your business after meeting a man who said, «Throw it on the other side»? They throw it on the other side, had the biggest day of business, 10x’d it, and did not stay to capitalize on the business; they left everything to follow Jesus.
Do you know how audacious it is to do that without a guarantee? Do you know how audacious it is to be associated with Jesus when people are coming out of the woods as ops trying to kill Him? Y’all know everybody’s down until somebody pulls out that thing. Oh, y’all know what I’m talking about! Someone’s like, «Let’s fight!» Everybody’s like, «Oh, hold on! Fighting? I don’t fight! I don’t fight!» But somewhere along the line, I think we have subscribed as believers to safe faith—the safe faith that we can calculate, the faith that makes sense to our mother-in-law and our business partner, the faith that makes sense to our bank accounts and our savings. Okay, I’m going to have to work today, and I see it because some of y’all are sitting here like cross-eyed, looking at me, and I’m going to help you today. Let me let every believer know why you can have the audacity to believe God.
The audacious faith… I can have audacity because Jesus gave me authority. The reason why you don’t walk with your chest out, and the reason you don’t walk into places believing that the atmosphere is going to change is because you don’t know what you’ve already been given. The reason why I am audacious with my faith and I can believe God for stuff nobody in my family has ever seen, and I could believe God to write down 37 days after I became the lead pastor of this church that this would be a building, and when we got here five years later, we paid it off in five months—why did that happen? Because my faith was audacious! Look, if it didn’t happen, it wasn’t because I didn’t supply the ingredients. And some of us are trying to be God’s protection, and we mask it as, «I don’t want to get my hopes up. I don’t want to put that demand on God. Did God really say that? I don’t think— I think that’s a little much to be able to believe like that.»
If it doesn’t happen, He’s still God! His place in the universe didn’t change! And maybe He’s trying to teach you something different about your space in this place. But most of us won’t even supply the ingredients to make the cake; you won’t even put the faith into play. And this is why I need you to know that your audacity to believe God in faith comes from your authority. Anytime somebody has audacity, it’s because they have—say it with me—you have audacity because you have authority! You can have audacity because you, by Jesus, have been given a… You don’t even believe it! Matthew 28:18—this is Jesus! So let’s establish who has authority. Jesus came and told all His disciples, «I have been given all authority.» Well, where have you been given authority? In this hut? In this town? In this city? «I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.»
So Jesus comes to let you know, «Hey, allow me to reintroduce myself. My name is J E S U S!» He literally says, «I’m Jesus! And everything you’ve ever seen, I have been given authority over that! But let me tell you, I’ve been given authority over things you can’t see either—heaven and earth.» Then let’s go over to Luke 10:19. So we just established Jesus has authority—say that with me—"Jesus has authority.» Say it one more time—"Jesus has authority.» But we’ve got to amend it because it said «all.» And if you forget «all,» then you will forget that He doesn’t have authority just in small sections. Okay, Jesus has all authority! This series, Mustard, there are some words we’ve got to elongate! Okay?
So Jesus has authority, right? Did you hear? Because sometimes you’ve got to remember, it’s not just the thing you’re praying about that He has authority over. The person you hate? He has authority over them too. That’s why you pray scriptures like this: When you learn your authority and how the Word can change things, «Father, the heart of the king is in the Lord’s hand like water; you can turn it.» See, when you understand who has all authority, it changes the way you walk in audacity. Okay, I’m trying to give you the formula. So Jesus has all authority. Luke 10:19—this is Jesus talking to those same disciples. Look, anytime a sentence starts with «Look,» that means they already tried to say something. You ever been telling your kids, like, «Hey, look! I ain’t going to tell you again! It’s bedtime!» Jesus starts this sentence off like this: «Look! I have given"—uh-uh, read the Bible.
In Matthew 28:18, He says, «I’ve been given all authority.» Now He’s saying, «Look, let me tell you again, I have given you authority over—» that word «again» is very important. «All the power of the enemy.» Hold on! Not all the power of the enemy, not the anxiety that keeps hitting me at night, not those temptations that keep coming. Hold on, hold on! Not those suggestions of suicide—no, no, no, not that! He said, «I have all authority! Now I give you authority over all the power of the enemy!» That makes me feel like I can go and bust some heads! And He says, «And you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them!» Why? Because nothing will injure you! Imagine being on the sideline scared of something you’re supposed to crush! This is how the church looks, but look! Snakes are over there, but look! But look, there are people that don’t like me over there. There are critics over there. There are people who don’t want to—They don’t like me! Oh, come on, y’all! I don’t know if I feel welcome! This notion that every space that God takes you into is supposed to be comfortable is a lie from hell! That’s why He says, «I will prepare a table in the presence of your enemies.»
Now, why do I see quotes in these memes like, «If you’re not celebrated, don’t tolerate it»? Then Jesus would have gone nowhere. We are called into spaces to be the change there. So when you first show up, they may not be clapping for you. Okay? When you first show up, they may not be excited because you’re an interrupter, a disruptor, a light-bringer, a kingdom citizen. So many of us believe the lie that we have to be liked to be effective. But I came to tell you that the impact comes from my anointing and my assignment, not your co-sign. Yeah, y’all are waiting for a co-sign from somebody who can’t call you, and their co-sign means nothing if God has put His hand on your life. Some of you need to find the people who have been trying to keep you in the background because they think you don’t have what it takes. No, I have audacity, and I’m about to step boldly into every space God has called me to, and I’m going to do what God says. Okay, somebody yell at me: audacious faith! Audacious faith! Okay, let me put my glasses on to be a little more dignified.
Jesus said, «Look, I’ve given you authority over all the powers of the enemy.» This is what I found out: most believers have not accepted the truth of the transfer. Jesus has the power, and He transferred it to us. What if I told you right now that I was going to transfer $100,000 into your bank account? Now, the crazy thing is some people are laughing, and there are a few in this room who feel like, «Hold on, is he serious? Is this right? Is he playing?» Now, the thing about a transfer is that when you start dealing with amounts that exceed single-digit thousands, you usually don’t carry that much cash. Alright? They usually do electronic transfers, different types of wires, as they call them. What ends up happening is if you don’t know that someone is transferring you $100,000, you won’t act like you have $100,000. So if you had $562 in your bank account, but someone transferred you $100,000 and you didn’t know, you would still live like you had $562 in your account. The truth of the transfer is it was made, but you are just unaware of it.
Could it be that Jesus is saying when you accepted me at salvation, there was a deposit put in your account of authority that would give you the audacity to believe that even with faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to a situation, a person, or something else, «Be removed,» and it would completely change? But you are unaware of the transfer. The reason you are walking around timid is that you have not accepted that the transfer has already happened. Some of you are trying to earn what God has already given you. Okay, if you didn’t know the $100,000 had come, you would be living at the same level of resource, the same level of restriction, and the same level of reservation because you didn’t have revelation. Today, I want you to understand that you can have the audacity to believe God because you have been given authority by God.
Okay, let me break it down even more. My daughters, Ava and Bella, have come into this space where they want to pay for stuff. They say, «No, no, no, Daddy, let me pay for it! No, no, Daddy, let me pay for it!» I don’t know if this is a good or bad thing, because I feel like I’m training them in the way they shouldn’t go when they take my card when they’re older. But there’s something about how they like to have the authority to walk up to the counter and tap the card. The other day, we were in Quick Trip, and Bella and Ava went to ask for slushies after Ransom. They had danced and done so well, and I promised them slushies. So they go into Quick Trip, and Ava asked for the card before we got out of the car.
Usually, she asks for it when we get to the counter, but she asked, «Daddy, can I see the card because I want to pay for it?» I was like, «Okay,» not even thinking about it. I gave her the card. That baby looked at that card when she walked into that store. She did not come to play! I promised her a slushie, so she picked up candy, pizza, chips, and even had the audacity to pick up a donut, look at it, and put it back. She had the audacity to ask Bella if she wanted anything else. She looked back at me and said, «Daddy, did you want something?» But she was walking in the authority that I gave her. Until the body of Christ walks in the authority their Father has given them, that baby doesn’t know how much money is in my account. She has no idea how the transfer even happens. All she knows is that she has access to her father’s authority.
Y’all better hear what I’m saying to you today! If you go into that job and stop acting scared, step in like, «I got the wisdom for this!» No, I’ve never done this before, but I have access to all knowledge and understanding. Somebody shout at me: access! Access! Authority! Authority! Audacity! Audacity! Stop playing scared! You want that house? Well, during the government and economic downturn, somebody is getting a house right now! See? Okay, alright, let me see you want to change that neighborhood? Someone is buying one right now, and you don’t have the audacity to believe. Okay, there’s nothing worse than having access and being completely unaware. Nothing is worse than going to a concert, and one of your friends works backstage. They give you a badge, and then you start asking where your seat is. Now you feel bad because you never looked at the access you had. The badge they gave you was not for a seat; it was access to explore. It was access to not find where your seat was in the nosebleeds; it was access to be on the side of the stage. But if you don’t know, you can’t walk in that authority. You show up timid, scared, and begging. Today, I just want to activate and unlock your audacious faith.
Let me prove to you that God has given you everything you need. Second Peter 1:3: By His divine power, God has given us everything we need. Stop right there. By God’s divine power, He has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all authority, all peace, all patience, and all love. When we get Jesus, we get the whole package. We come to know Him, which is about not being ignorant of what we’ve received. Why do we read our Bible? Because we get to find out what comes with the package. There are features in your faith that you haven’t even unlocked yet because you won’t read the manual. Okay, I know some of you just take things out of the box and turn them on. People, where are y’all at right now? No one wants to raise their hand; I bet you haven’t read instructions in years. Now, when you want to find a specific function, you just go to YouTube or ChatGPT. I’m fine with it in technology, but please don’t bring that to your faith! Because if you don’t bring the effort to your faith, you won’t find the treasures.
Alright, let me stop. He said we receive all of this by coming to know Him, the one who called us to Himself by means of His marvelous and glorious excellence. Let me help you understand this: maybe the Christian walk is less about getting more and more about uncovering what’s already there. Okay, if I already got it, somebody say, «I already got it!» I already got the faith I need to move the mountain, to change the situation, to walk into a new thing. What’s covering it up? Until you start unearthing this stuff, you walk below your authority. So this is what I’m going to do: I’m going to state a point, then I’m going to give you seven things, and then we’re going home.
The transfer of authority you need for transformation is not in transit; it’s yours for the taking. This is your prophetic word: God’s not sending the faith you need; it’s already here! You don’t even believe it; it’s just covered under doubt, depression, anxiety, and all of these things, and God’s saying that’s why all you need is faith the size of a mustard seed. Because if you could start believing that you already got it, you would start walking completely differently. Somebody say, «I already got it!» Say it with audacity: «I already got it!»
Okay, here are seven things audacious faith does. If you’re going to walk with audacious faith, these are the seven things it does. Number one: audacious faith attacks apathy. If your faith is going to be bold, take risks, and move forward, it stands against apathy. Okay, James 2:26 says, «For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.» Let me help you understand this: it’s not faith until you add works to it. Stop telling me what God’s about to do if you haven’t done anything. «God’s about to bless me with a thing,» yet you don’t have a bank account to receive it. Come on, y’all! «God’s about to restore my relationship.» Well, why are you still playing with the old ones?
I love the analogy in James. It says, «For the body without the spirit is dead.» It likens faith to a glove. We were made in the image of God. This glove was made in the image of my hand, but this glove has no purpose unless my hand is in it. The same way, your life has no purpose unless God is in it. The reason we present the gospel and tell people about Jesus is that they have an image of what life can look like, an image of what it looked like to have a hand. But this thing by itself? What is it doing? Keeping warm? Protecting? Nothing! It’s not until the hand gets in it that purpose is revealed. It’s not until God gets in your life and your heart that purpose is revealed.
Do it without God, and it’ll still be dead. Go ahead, have the career, the money, and all the other stuff. Do it without God, and it’ll still be dead. But God can take a little bit of faith, and if He’s in the midst of it, it comes alive. I love that this is not just a gospel message; He turns the gospel into a metaphor for your faith. He said, «In the same way, you’re talking about having crazy faith. I’m believing God big.» Yet you don’t pull out a pencil and paper, you don’t write down what He gave you, and you don’t study to figure out how the laws work around what you’re believing for. He said your faith, without putting some work into it, is dead. Today, some of you need to get a glove and make a decision. You need to write «faith» on the outside of it and say, «This week, I’m putting in some work. This week, I’m not just going to talk about it.» We’ve been praying for what God has already given us the power to walk in.
Second thing: audacious faith agitates average. I have to confess—I’m annoying to some people. No, I am fully aware; not everyone, but there is a segment of our society who doesn’t like how audacious I am. They’ll find anything to try to tear down what God is doing in my life. It could be a piece of cloth or the way I say something. But the truth is, my audacity to believe God, my audacity to be committed to one beautiful woman, my audacity to raise my kids, and my audacity to encourage broken and lost people and tell them that God can transform their lives agitate those who are average.
Who does he think he is? Coming up here wearing this and doing that? Just a child of God who believes the promises of God! I’m going to walk in them whether you like it or not. But audacity offends the average. You can find average people all around you. As soon as you start doing something audacious, you’ll hear them say, «I’m going back to school.» «Why would you do that?» «What are you going to use that degree for?» Shut up! I haven’t even told you anything, but those average folks who have been seated for years will try to put a lid on what God is trying to launch you into.
Yeah, you’re writing a book? «What do you have to talk about?» Wait, you met me three years ago. You don’t even know my whole life! The reason I tell you this is that many times you’ll want to step back when you hear those voices of doubt, discouragement, and those average folks around you start getting the attacks from average. The attacks from average are meant to make you shrink. I’m just coming because I wish somebody would have told me this, because everybody yells «crazy faith» until you do it. They cheered for you while it was uncertain, and then when it happened, and it happened again, and it happened again, and it happened again, they don’t like it. Why would it happen to you?
I’m encouraging the people who are about to build the future. I don’t know who I’m talking about right now, but I need to encourage those who are about to build the future. When the attacks come, please do not take a step back. Please do not lose your audacity because that is exactly what the enemy wants you to do. It’s not new; they did it to Jesus. «Who are you to heal somebody on the Sabbath?» «Bro, didn’t he have an arm? That’s your cousin! Why wouldn’t you want your cousin to have an arm?» Bro’s arm grew back; he got his sight, and the only thing they could see was, «You did it on the wrong day.» They also did it to Daniel in Daniel chapter 6. Daniel had the audacity to pray even when the rule came from King Darius that for 30 days they were only supposed to pray to him. Daniel was like, «Yo, God is my God, and I can’t really violate that.»
He was put in a trap by the people around him, yet he had the audacity to still do what got him to the place he’s in right now. When he did his common practice in the face of attack, that’s how he got to the lion’s den. I want to let you know that most of us, when we get to the lion’s den, would be like, «God dang, I was just praying to you! Come on, y’all, you could have protected me from the lion’s den.» He said, «I’m not just protecting you; I’m going to preserve you.» He said, «I’ve got to do something to let them know I’m God.» Sometimes I put my children in impossible situations and keep them in the middle of it. So when morning comes and you’re supposed to be devoured, and they scream in there, «Daniel, did your God save you?» «Yep, he did it again! Yep, he’s still on the throne! Yep, it killed all of them, but nothing is going to take me out!»
Somebody shout «audacity!» Audacity! That’s why you’ve got to guard your faith. That’s why even when your faith is small, you still have to guard it. It’s like I told you last week: have faith like a Ferrari. You need to raise the function of your faith. I found a Ferrari. Now, I know it’s not what you were probably expecting, but this is sometimes how our faith starts. It starts as an image in our head, and then it starts small. «Yes, sir, I’m going to put my faith down.» «Wow, that’s powerful!» I know y’all don’t see it yet, but I see something in the future. Matter of fact, I’ve got to protect this. I need some stanchions. I need something to protect it.
Matter of fact, I’m going to just wait on me. Yeah, grab me that stanchion real quick. Yeah, give me one more. Yeah, give me another. Yeah, 'cause one day—just nobody can come; they can’t mess with it. Yeah, give me another 'cause I don’t know how people are going to treat this, but they may can’t see it yet. Yeah, yeah, I’m going to put in some work 'cause I’ve got to protect what God has given me. I know some of y’all don’t see what God’s doing yet. I need one more. Yeah, bring it. Take it off of that; they don’t need to protect that camera. You need to protect my Ferrari. Thank you so much, Gabby. Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, no, no, don’t mess it up now. Oh no, yeah, dang! Oh, everybody’s watching. Sometimes you’ve got to engineer it; it’s nice! Yeah, y’all can come and see it for a dollar a pop. As a matter of fact, Q, come here. Uh, yeah, come here. I need you to stand right here and protect it. Just stand right here.
If anybody tries to come and get it, come on, you know what to do. Yeah, yeah, all right, I feel safe now. Most of you, if I hired these men to guard this for eight hours a day and paid them and really charged a dollar to come see this, you would think I was crazy 'cause that doesn’t look like much. And this is what mustard seed faith looks like. God gave you that business idea; He told you what it was going to do, and you just let anybody walk up and touch it. You let people come up and kick around what God gave you as something that He’s going to use to transform your life. See, this is how God will do it. Because you were faithful over this—no, I can’t touch it yet 'cause God hadn’t told me to stop believing and confessing that thing. I’ll just, yeah, I’m going to step out of here. Yeah, «Father, I believe one day you’re going to turn that into something; one day you’re going to upgrade me, and I think that day is today.»
Now watch it, 'cause some of you feel like this upgrade is not worth celebrating, but my faith just got bigger. And if right now I said «abracadabra» and a full Ferrari popped up on this stage, everybody would shout, «Glory to God!» Yet, who’s to say that that won’t happen? Oh, 'cause you’ve not seen it before? 'Cause it’s not normal? Will you protect the big thing that God gives you in seed form? That is going to take audacity. Thank you all. All right, here we go: audacious faith increases your appetite. Romans 12:3 says, «Because of the privilege— and here’s that word again— and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: don’t think you are better than you really are.» I have to stop because even when I said that, some of you were triggered and traumatized because that scripture has been weaponized to make people feel and think small.
«Don’t think more of yourself than you should.» It really is Jesus telling you to just think about yourself rightly. What it should say, as I interpret this through grace, is something like, «Don’t think you are better than you really are, but don’t forget you are who He said you are.» So what ends up happening is we forget who we are trying not to think that we are better than we are. «I ain’t better than I am, but I am who I am, Sam I am.» Like do y’all hear what I’m saying? The enemy will try to make you feel like you’re not a child of God, like you’re not a royal priesthood, like you’re not chosen, like you’re not redeemed, like you’re not righteous. Don’t forget who you are trying to please people who don’t want you to be who you are. He says, «Be honest in your evaluation of yourself.»
That’s self-awareness. Measuring yourself—watch this—how should you measure yourself? By the… Oh my, y’all ain’t never seen this scripture in the Bible! God says, «Stop measuring your Instagram followers. Start measuring your faith! Stop measuring your friend count. Start measuring your faith! Stop measuring your finances. Start measuring your faith!» He said, «The thing I want you to measure is how much faith you’ve got, 'cause everything else comes out of faith.» «By faith, the worlds were formed.» Okay, God, He said, «I want you to measure yourself by the faith God has given each one of us.» This makes me think, write this down: my faith is not fixed; it can grow further. Any time you measure something, you measure it because it has the opportunity to expand or shrink.
So, God’s saying you can grow in your measure of faith. Whatever level of faith you have today, grow, baby, grow! The only way that car went from where it was to where it is is that I planted it, and I did the things that were instructed for it to grow. How does faith grow? The Bible tells us there are several ways, but one of them says faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God. You just start playing the Bible more in your house. Oh yeah, I love music—put on some music and just play the Word. I told somebody this years ago: there’s a scripture that talks about the Holy Spirit bringing everything to your remembrance in the time that you need it. I told somebody, «It’s like…» They were like, «How do you remember all the Bible and all the different things?» I said, «Let me tell you the truth: I don’t remember a lot, but I put it in. And if I put it in, the Holy Spirit, at the time I need it, will allow something to come out that I ain’t never thought before. Like in Ephesians 6:9, it’s like a…»
The problem is the enemy doesn’t want you to put in what you need so that there’s nothing to come out. So when you’re in a trial, that’s why that sad R&B song only comes out, 'cause it’s what went in. That’s why the quote from the movie is the only thing that comes out when you’re really needing something. But if there ain’t nothing in there that changes you, it can’t come out. Oh, I’m trying to help somebody! Here we go: audacious faith, watch this, accelerates with associates. This is the season to check your friend circle, 'cause if your friends don’t have faith, they might not be able to go where you are going. If your friends don’t believe like you believe or more than you believe, you may need to get new friends. If you tell your friends something, and they think it’s like, «Okay, good for you, girl. I’ll be here,» whether you know how it goes, they ain’t got nothing to say.
You don’t have any encouragement for me? You don’t have proof in your own life that God can do it? If your friends can’t point to a time when God did something in their life and they’re always talking about how it didn’t work out for them, «Be careful, girl, be careful, bro,» you know what I’m saying? The last time you tried to be faithful to your wife—hold on, the last time you were trying to be faithful to your wife—what is going on? That is your friend telling you not to be faithful to your wife. These are real conversations; they don’t have faith. You can transform faith; you can put down that alcohol. Faith can help you put down that habit.
Deuteronomy 32:30 says, «How should one chase a thousand? And then two can put ten thousand to flight.» What it’s saying is two are better than one. You should have somebody that you can say something to, and they become a lifter, not a lid. Okay, where are all the lifters in the room right now? Come on, y’all! Hey, if you can’t find a lifter, become one! When God says something to them, and even if it’s crazy, you be like, «You know what? I’m going to be praying with you that God gives you discernment about that.» 'Cause sometimes the first thing God says, we say, and then it has to form into what it will become. But some people will squash an idea. Everybody at our church knows: do not crush the idea thinking about money, 'cause if we start thinking, «Can we do it?» before we think, «What is it?» the idea never gets a moment to live.
Some of us have been people like, «Well, I just want to be realistic.» The walk of Christ is not realistic! Oh God, I’m going to have to do a year on just faith. 'Cause this is reprogramming. You are transformed by the renewing of your mind. All right, let me go to the next one, 'cause some of y’all just looking like, «Uh-oh, this is enough for me today.» Here we go: audacious faith shifts atmospheres. You know when I talked about when you walk in audacious faith earlier, that it offends and brings people into, like, «Why are they so loud?» or «Why are they so bold?» or «Why are they this?»
Okay, it’s because when audacious people walk in, it shifts the atmosphere. I’m just telling you right now, as a believer in Jesus, your joy should make angry people feel like, «Oh.» If you can walk into an atmosphere and nothing shifts, my question is: what are you carrying? Okay, some of you have made it your goal to not be noticed, yes, when the gospel is supposed to be the change agent in every atmosphere. So at your job, it should be a difference when you’re there, and it should be a difference when you’re not there. Somebody should look around and be like, «Is it the music? Is it a cloudy day? What’s happening?» Because believers carry light, and light is supposed to change all dark places. Y’all okay?
Matthew 5:14, I’m going to read it in the Message version. It says, «Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept.» God is not a secret that your coworkers don’t know about. God is not a secret for your Christian friends. He is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this. We’re going to have the audacity to show up in the mall, to show up in government, to show up on the charts, to show up in the gym. I’m going to be a believer. I’m unashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God unto my salvation, we’re going public with this. How public, Pastor Mike? As public as a city set on a hill. If I make this, this is Jesus talking: if I make you a light-bearer, do you think I’m going to hide it under that desk? I’mma hide it under that career? I’mma hide it under your gift?
Yeah, I’m a Christian, but I’m really trying to be like a subtle, secret agent of the Word? No. I am saying, come in with sense, but if you’ve been somewhere for two years and nobody knows you believe, you’re hiding something. My, my, my, my walk with God oozes out. You might catch me reading my Bible on my lunch break; you might catch me watching a sermon. You’re going to be bumping into somebody like, «What you listening to?» «Oh, that’s just Transformation Worship. Sign me up.» That’s just what? How does my life not echo? Okay, he said, «I’m not going to hide it under a bucket.» He said, «I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand, shine.»
Look at your neighbor and say, «Shine, baby, shine.» Come on, find one more neighbor and say, «Shine, baby, shine.» Shine. Keep an open house; be generous with your lives. Watch this. Watch this. Watch what it does: by opening up with God, oh God, by opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up to God, this generous Father. And do y’all? But you won’t be audacious enough to walk in there fly as you want to be, and it’s not 'cause you thirsty; it’s because you got that light on the inside. Like, okay, y’all had enough today? All right, here we go. Two more. Audacious faith makes you an anomaly; it makes you stick out. And this is a sad truth because it’s not supposed to. The truth of the matter is everybody in here should be walking in such audacious faith that it’s like, «Oh, I’m just with my people now.» But the truth of the matter is there will be thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of people who will watch this message, and maybe 300 will get it. Maybe somebody said, «I get it. I get it.»
Be the one that gets it because this is the truth. You will walk as light in darkness; you will be spotted first. Okay, if we turned all the lights out and somebody put on their cell phone, everybody would look where the light was. And some of us are like, «Why they always looking at me? Why they always judging me? Ah, why they always critiquing me? Ah, you shining, baby.» Oh, y’all didn’t hear me. I said, «You shining, baby.» It’s the best compliment. What? And some of us are trying to run from what we are. Somebody say, «I’m light.» So when you walk in audacious faith, it makes you an anomaly. This is one thing I’ve had to learn in this last season, in this last season of my life, the last three years. Because of the light of God on the inside of us and our church, it’s drawn all kinds of attention—some of it good, some of it unwarranted, some of it made up, some of it bad. But if we weren’t shining, nobody would care.
So I had to make up in my mind that criticism was not a correction from God, okay? Criticism from men is not a correction from God. Many times, criticism from men is proof that God chose you, okay? And so what happens is when you step into audacious faith, I need somebody to remember this. It’s not for everybody, but this was for me, okay? Remember, you’re not lonely; you’re leading. Just remember, 'cause it will try to isolate you and make you feel like, «Man, forget this. I don’t need this.» And then you remember, «Oh, God called me to this. My bad, God, my bad. You’re looking at the wrong thing. You’re looking at the criticism of people,» and God says, «This is just proof you’re called. It’s just proof you’re called.»
Anybody that’s done anything great—any athlete, any person of your favorite—is protocol, whether they win or lose, that they got to go talk to the media. Why do they got to go talk to the media? It’s in their contract. 'Cause everybody’s in this arena looking at you; you got to talk about what just happened. Why? «Well, you have 15 points tonight. I score 40 every other night, and tonight… you don’t know I got diarrhea! The fact that I was out there was a miracle! I was running all up and down the court! Do you understand?» But we never take into consideration what somebody… We just judge the outcome and critique it, not knowing it might have been a hard week with the family or they might have been battling depression in the background, or it’s a miracle that I even lifted my hands this life. And this is why the Bible tells us to pray for people.
Okay, let me stop. Just remember, you’re not lonely; you’re leading. Somebody came for that today: you’re not lonely; you’re leading. Here we go. Audacious faith advances the kingdom. There is nothing beautiful that has happened in God’s plan for humanity without a human doing something audacious and God backing them up. That’s why the Bible tells us in Acts 17 that people were trying to come against the disciples, and this is how they were talked about behind their back. He said, «These are they who turned the world upside down.» Could anybody say that your faith has flipped something in their world? Your faith has made people look at being in a marriage different? Your faith to actually love people who seem unlovable flips somebody’s view. Let me tell you about a man I met yesterday. His name is Coupe. I don’t know if he’s here today.
Coupe, you here? There’s my dog right there. Y’all give it up for Coupe right there. Hey, Coupe, come up here real quick, man. Go that way. Let me tell you what happened yesterday, and this is how I’m ending right here. I’m walking into Woodland Hills Mall, and I don’t like going to the mall for real. I only go if I’m getting some dirty Chinese food, or I love dirty Chinese food, or my wife sends me in there for something. I’m walking out of the mall yesterday, and come here, my brother. This is my brother, y’all. I appreciate you. He didn’t know this, but I was in a moment of dealing with something personally. I’m walking into the mall feeling a little discouraged. This was last night, and Coupe sees me walking in as he’s walking out, and he says, «Pastor Mike Todd!» I was like, «What’s up? What’s going on?» Like, man, he’s looking around for somebody, and it was like I didn’t know who he was looking for. He was just excited and was like, «Man, I watch Transformation Church every day.»
And now let me just say, Coupe was in a Harley-Davidson t-shirt, a bald white guy; in culture standpoint, we don’t exist together. But when God told us that we would be a multi-ethnic, multi-generational church, He didn’t lie about His promise. I’m so glad you’re here, bro. Oh my God, I’m so glad you’re here, bro. Okay, listen, I ain’t even told the story yet. I’m getting goosebumps thinking about what God did. Coupe told me he said December, he had overdosed on fentanyl several times, multiple times daily, multiple times daily for a month. For a month, he said he was paying somebody to stay with him to revive him, saving his life every day. I’m not talking years ago; I’m talking about this past December, okay? He said December 31st was the beginning of his journey of sobriety, and he’s been sober since December. Y’all, Transformation Church, let’s give God praise for the transformation. Coupe said, «Y’all get ready.» Coupe said, «All I did was watch you in this church every day.»
And he said something came alive in me, and God started doing something in my faith. And he just went to encourage. I’m talking about God used you, Coupe, yesterday to encourage me to get back up here and walk in the audacity and the authority that He’s given me. I wrote on my Instagram last night, «I preach for Coupe; I don’t preach for haters. I don’t preach for critics. I preach for Coupe, for every person that’s lost and broken, for every person that needs a word. I preach for Coupe.» Now look at the cool thing that happened. I got goosebumps telling this story, y’all. Coupe leaves the mall; I walk into the mall. I get my dirty Chinese food, and as I’m standing there, the Holy Spirit says, «Because Coupe gave me this little bitty piece of information, he said, 'Man, my day has just changed because, man, I just said, I just lost my Oakley shades. I was trying on something, but today now God will provide. I’m in here now, and it’s all good. I’m getting to meet you.'»
And he just said it by the way, and the Holy Spirit says, «Go to the Oakley store. If Coupe is in there, I want you to buy him the glasses he lost.» And I’m like, «Lord, right, right?» I saw him; he was going towards the parking lot as I was going into the mall. I walk to the Oakley store, and there is one person in the entire store—Coupe. Now watch; it took audacious faith for me to walk from that Chinese food place every step I took. See, you don’t count it faith, but I had no guarantee. I saw him leave, and God was testing my faith. Would you just obey me? You don’t know what’s on the other side of this. And Coupe, I come in there and tell him, I say, «Coupe, I’m replacing your glasses.» Coupe said, «Oh my God, glory to God!» And watch; it wasn’t for me to replace the glasses. Coupe started testifying to the young lady, Alexis, behind the counter. He said, «I got to tell you this story: I was overdosing on fentanyl, but God had me!» Y’all, Transformation, He changed my life! Y’all, the young lady Alexis, she’s watching right now from the Oakley store. Me and Coupe are saying hello.
Now watch, she said, «I know who you are.» She said, «My dad came in town, and he watches you faithfully. When he was in town, he said, 'We got to go to Transformation Church.' He said, 'That place I watch every day, and it changes my life.'» She said, «God sent y’all in here to remind me that I need to get closer to Him.» Coupe got his glasses; we hugged three or four times; we took a picture together. I left encouraged; Coupe left seen by God, and Alexis left knowing that she needed a connection with God. These are they who are about to turn the world upside down! Oh, you were looking for somebody else, but as long as me and Coupe and about 2500 more of y’all walk in audacious faith, we’re going to turn the world upside down! Somebody give God a shout of praise, standing all over this building. Don’t you tell me He can’t do it!
Welcome home! This is a place for the broken. This is the place for the lost. This is a place for those who need a Savior. If you’re in this place and you’re saying, «Pastor Mike, listen, I know you think you need to leave, but listen to me for one second, living this life without the faith that you need, it’s like having this glove with no power in it.»
Today, if you need to put God into your life, I want to pray for you because this is the first act of audacious faith: to allow a God whom you have not seen to come into your heart that you feel you know very well and to transform your life. I know you’re broken 'cause I was; I know you’re hurting 'cause I was; I know you might be addicted to something 'cause I was. But today, I’m here as a testimony to let you know that God can take whatever has been causing you disease, and He can heal you and make you whole. Today, if you want to make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior, I want you to walk in audacious faith. On the count of three, just lift your hand up. Ain’t nobody going to judge you; ain’t nobody about to put you on front street and be like, «What are all the sins you’ve done?» Ain’t nobody. 'Cause if we start like sin comparison, your boy is going to be number one. It’s even at the foot of the cross.
So today, if you want to accept Jesus, today is day one. You’re making the greatest decision of your life. Whether you’re in this room or online, today is the day of salvation. Two, I’m proud of you, and everybody’s going to cheer for you. But more than that, your name is about to be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Three, if you want to accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, I want you to lift your hand. I see y’all right there! If it was all for you, I see y’all back there. I see you; I see you; I see you; I see you; I see you. And more than that, God sees you. Can we give God praise? Hey, listen, if you’re close to somebody, just stretch your hands toward them, and we’re a family; we pray all together. Everybody just say:
God, thank You for sending Jesus just for me. Today, in audacious faith, I put my life back in Your hands. I believe You lived, You died, and You rose again just for me. So here’s my life: renew my life. Change me, renew me. Transform me. I’m Yours. I’m Yours. In Jesus' name, amen.